Grenada (2002) | Nicaragua (2001) | |
Administrative divisions | 6 parishes and 1 dependency*; Carriacou and Petit Martinique*, Saint Andrew, Saint David, Saint George, Saint John, Saint Mark, Saint Patrick | 15 departments (departamentos, singular - departamento), 2 autonomous regions* (regiones autonomistas, singular - region autonomista); Boaco, Carazo, Chinandega, Chontales, Esteli, Granada, Jinotega, Leon, Madriz, Managua, Masaya, Matagalpa, Nueva Segovia, Rio San Juan, Rivas, Atlantico Norte*, Atlantico Sur* |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 35.9% (male 16,213; female 15,863)
15-64 years: 60.3% (male 28,460; female 25,307) 65 years and over: 3.8% (male 1,546; female 1,822) (2002 est.) |
0-14 years:
38.98% (male 976,087; female 941,141) 15-64 years: 58.08% (male 1,418,555; female 1,438,096) 65 years and over: 2.94% (male 62,963; female 81,551) (2001 est.) |
Agriculture - products | bananas, cocoa, nutmeg, mace, citrus, avocados, root crops, sugarcane, corn, vegetables | coffee, bananas, sugarcane, cotton, rice, corn, tobacco, sesame, soya, beans; beef, veal, pork, poultry, dairy products |
Airports | 3 (2001) | 182 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 3
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 under 914 m: 1 (2002) |
total:
11 2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 1,524 to 2,437 m: 3 914 to 1,523 m: 3 under 914 m: 3 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | - | total:
171 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 25 under 914 m: 145 (2000 est.) |
Area | total: 344 sq km
land: 344 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total:
129,494 sq km land: 120,254 sq km water: 9,240 sq km |
Area - comparative | twice the size of Washington, DC | slightly smaller than the state of New York |
Background | One of the smallest independent countries in the western hemisphere, Grenada was seized by a Marxist military council on 19 October 1983. Six days later the island was invaded by US forces and those of six other Caribbean nations, which quickly captured the ringleaders and their hundreds of Cuban advisers. Free elections were reinstituted the following year. | Settled as a colony of Spain in the 1520s, Nicaragua gained its independence in 1821. Violent opposition to governmental manipulation and corruption spread to all classes by 1978 and resulted in a short-lived civil war that brought the Marxist Sandinista guerrillas to power in 1979. Nicaraguan aid to leftist rebels in El Salvador caused the US to sponsor anti-Sandinista contra guerrillas through much of the 1980s. Free elections in 1990 and again in 1996 saw the Sandinistas defeated. The country has slowly rebuilt its economy during the 1990s, but was hard hit by Hurricane Mitch in 1998. |
Birth rate | 23.05 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 27.64 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $85.8 million
expenditures: $102.1 million, including capital expenditures of $28 million (1997) |
revenues:
$734 million expenditures: $836 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (1999 est.) |
Capital | Saint George's | Managua |
Climate | tropical; tempered by northeast trade winds | tropical in lowlands, cooler in highlands |
Coastline | 121 km | 910 km |
Constitution | 19 December 1973 | 9 January 1987, with reforms in 1995 and 2000 |
Country name | conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Grenada |
conventional long form:
Republic of Nicaragua conventional short form: Nicaragua local long form: Republica de Nicaragua local short form: Nicaragua |
Currency | East Caribbean dollar (XCD) | gold cordoba (NIO) |
Death rate | 7.63 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 4.82 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Debt - external | $196 million (2000) (2000) | $6.4 billion (2000 est.) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: the ambassador to Barbados is accredited to Grenada; Charge d'Affairs Nadia TONGOUR
embassy: Point Salines, Saint George's mailing address: P. O. Box 54, Saint George's, Grenada, West Indies telephone: [1] (473) 444-1173 through 1176 FAX: [1] (473) 444-4820 |
chief of mission:
Ambassador Oliver P. GARZA embassy: Apartado Postal 327, Kilometer 4.5 Carretera Sur, Managua mailing address: APO AA 34021 telephone: [505] (2) 662298, 666010, 666012, 666013, 666015, 666018, 666026, 666027, 666032, 666033 FAX: [505] (2) 669074 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Denis G. ANTOINE
chancery: 1701 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20009 telephone: [1] (202) 265-2561 FAX: [1] (202) 265-2468 consulate(s) general: New York |
chief of mission:
Ambassador Alfonso ORTEGA Urbina chancery: 1627 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20009 telephone: [1] (202) 939-6570 FAX: [1] (202) 939-6542 consulate(s) general: Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New Orleans, New York |
Disputes - international | none | territorial disputes with Colombia over the Archipelago de San Andres y Providencia and Quita Sueno Bank; with respect to the maritime boundary question in the Golfo de Fonseca, the ICJ referred to the line determined by the 1900 Honduras-Nicaragua Mixed Boundary Commission and advised that some tripartite resolution among El Salvador, Honduras, and Nicaragua likely would be required; maritime boundary dispute with Honduras in the Caribbean Sea is before the ICJ; legal dispute over navigational rights of San Juan River on border with Costa Rica |
Economic aid - recipient | $8.3 million (1995) (1995) | NA |
Economy - overview | Despite government steadying of annual economic growth in recent years through progress in fiscal reform and prudent macroeconomic management, a downturn in tourist arrivals in 2001 threatens government spending in 2002. Grenada relies on tourism as its main source of foreign exchange, although it also supports a small agriculture sector and a developing offshore financial industry. Short-term concerns include a rising fiscal deficit and the deterioration in the external account balance. | Nicaragua, one of the hemisphere's poorest countries, faces low per capita income, flagging socio-economic indicators, and huge external debt. While the country has made progress toward macro-economic stabilization over the past few years, a banking crisis and scandal has shaken the economy. Managua will continue to be dependent on international aid and debt relief under the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) initiative. Donors have made aid conditional on improving governability, the openness of government financial operation, poverty alleviation, and human rights. Nicaragua met the conditions for additional debt service relief in December 2000. Growth should remain moderate to high in 2001. |
Electricity - consumption | 102.3 million kWh (2000) | 2.265 billion kWh (1999) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2000) | 20 million kWh (1999) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2000) | 100 million kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production | 110 million kWh (2000) | 2.349 billion kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel: 100%
hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2000) |
fossil fuel:
67.26% hydro: 17.71% nuclear: 0% other: 15.03% (1999) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m
highest point: Mount Saint Catherine 840 m |
lowest point:
Pacific Ocean 0 m highest point: Mogoton 2,438 m |
Environment - current issues | NA | deforestation; soil erosion; water pollution; Hurricane Mitch damage |
Environment - international agreements | party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
party to:
Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: Environmental Modification |
Ethnic groups | black 82%, mixed black and European 13%, European and East Indian 5% , and trace of Arawak/Carib Amerindian | mestizo (mixed Amerindian and white) 69%, white 17%, black 9%, Amerindian 5% |
Exchange rates | East Caribbean dollars per US dollar - 2.7000 (fixed rate since 1976) | gold cordobas per US dollar - 12.96 (November 2000), 12.69 (2000 est.), 11.81 (1999), 10.58 (1998), 9.45 (1997), 8.44 (1996) |
Executive branch | chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), represented by Governor General Daniel WILLIAMS (since 9 August 1996)
head of government: Prime Minister Keith MITCHELL (since 22 June 1995) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the governor general on the advice of the prime minister elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; governor general appointed by the monarch; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or the leader of the majority coalition is usually appointed prime minister by the governor general |
chief of state:
President Arnoldo ALEMAN Lacayo (since 10 January 1997); Vice President Leopoldo NAVARRO (since 24 October 2000); note - the president is both chief of state and head of government head of government: President Arnoldo ALEMAN Lacayo (since 10 January 1997); Vice President Leopoldo NAVARRO (since 24 October 2000); note - the president is both chief of state and head of government cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president elections: president and vice president elected on the same ticket by popular vote for a five-year term; election last held 20 October 1996 (next to be held 4 November 2001); note - in July 1995 the term of the office of the president was amended to five years election results: Arnoldo ALEMAN Lacayo (Liberal Alliance - ruling party - includes PLC, PALI, PLIUN, and PUCA) 51.03%, Daniel ORTEGA Saavedra (FSLN) 37.75%, Guillermo OSORNO (PCCN) 4.10%, Noel VIDAURRE (PCN) 2.26%, Benjamin LANZAS (PRONAL) 0.53%, other (18 other candidates) 4.33% |
Exports | $78 million (2000 est.) | $631 million (f.o.b., 2000 est.) |
Exports - commodities | bananas, cocoa, nutmeg, fruit and vegetables, clothing, mace | coffee, shrimp and lobster, cotton, tobacco, beef, sugar, bananas; gold |
Exports - partners | Caricom 32.3%, UK 20%, US 13%, Netherlands 8.8% (1991) | US 37.7%, El Salvador 12.5%, Germany 9.8%, Costa Rica 5.1%, Spain 2.5%, France 2.1% (1999) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | calendar year |
Flag description | a rectangle divided diagonally into yellow triangles (top and bottom) and green triangles (hoist side and outer side), with a red border around the flag; there are seven yellow, five-pointed stars with three centered in the top red border, three centered in the bottom red border, and one on a red disk superimposed at the center of the flag; there is also a symbolic nutmeg pod on the hoist-side triangle (Grenada is the world's second-largest producer of nutmeg, after Indonesia); the seven stars represent the seven administrative divisions | three equal horizontal bands of blue (top), white, and blue with the national coat of arms centered in the white band; the coat of arms features a triangle encircled by the words REPUBLICA DE NICARAGUA on the top and AMERICA CENTRAL on the bottom; similar to the flag of El Salvador, which features a round emblem encircled by the words REPUBLICA DE EL SALVADOR EN LA AMERICA CENTRAL centered in the white band; also similar to the flag of Honduras, which has five blue stars arranged in an X pattern centered in the white band |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $424 million (2001 est.) | purchasing power parity - $13.1 billion (2000 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 8%
industry: 24% services: 68% (2000) (2000) |
agriculture:
31.6% industry: 22.8% services: 45.6% (1999) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $4,750 (2001 est.) | purchasing power parity - $2,700 (2000 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 6.5% (2001 est.) | 5% (2000 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 12 07 N, 61 40 W | 13 00 N, 85 00 W |
Geography - note | the administration of the islands of the Grenadines group is divided between Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and Grenada | - |
Highways | total: 1,040 km
paved: 638 km unpaved: 402 km (1996) |
total:
16,382 km paved: 1,818 km unpaved: 14,564 km (1998) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%:
1.6% highest 10%: 39.8% (1993) |
Illicit drugs | small-scale cannabis cultivation; lesser transshipment point for marijuana and cocaine to US | transshipment point for cocaine destined for the US and transshipment point for arms-for-drugs dealing |
Imports | $270 million (2000 est.) | $1.6 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) |
Imports - commodities | food, manufactured goods, machinery, chemicals, fuel (1989) | machinery and equipment, raw materials, petroleum products, consumer goods |
Imports - partners | US 31.2%, Caricom 23.6%, UK 13.8%, Japan 7.1% (1991) | US 34.5%, Costa Rica 11.4%, Guatemala 7.3%, Panama 6.9%, Venezuela 5.9%, El Salvador 5.5% (1999) |
Independence | 7 February 1974 (from UK) | 15 September 1821 (from Spain) |
Industrial production growth rate | 0.7% (1997 est.) | 4.4% (2000 est.) |
Industries | food and beverages, textiles, light assembly operations, tourism, construction | food processing, chemicals, machinery and metal products, textiles, clothing, petroleum refining and distribution, beverages, footwear, wood |
Infant mortality rate | 14.63 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) | 33.66 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 2.8% (2001 est.) | 11% (2000 est.) |
International organization participation | ACP, C, Caricom, CDB, ECLAC, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, ISO (subscriber), ITU, LAES, NAM, OAS, OECS, OPANAL, OPCW (signatory), UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WTrO | BCIE, CACM, CCC, ECLAC, FAO, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO (correspondent), ITU, LAES, LAIA (observer), NAM, OAS, OPANAL, OPCW, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 14 (2000) | 3 (2000) |
Irrigated land | NA sq km | 880 sq km (1993 est.) |
Judicial branch | West Indies Associate States Supreme Court (an associate judge resides in Grenada) | Supreme Court or Corte Suprema (16 judges elected for seven-year terms by the National Assembly) |
Labor force | 42,300 (1996) (1996) | 1.7 million (1999) |
Labor force - by occupation | services 62%, agriculture 24%, industry 14% (1999 est.) | services 43%, agriculture 42%, industry 15% (1999 est.) |
Land boundaries | 0 km | total:
1,231 km border countries: Costa Rica 309 km, Honduras 922 km |
Land use | arable land: 5.88%
permanent crops: 26.47% other: 67.65% (1998 est.) |
arable land:
9% permanent crops: 1% permanent pastures: 46% forests and woodland: 27% other: 17% (1993 est.) |
Languages | English (official), French patois | Spanish (official)
note: English and indigenous languages on Atlantic coast |
Legal system | based on English common law | civil law system; Supreme Court may review administrative acts |
Legislative branch | bicameral Parliament consists of the Senate (a 13-member body, 10 appointed by the government and three by the leader of the opposition) and the House of Representatives (15 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms)
elections: last held on 18 January 1999 (next to be held by NA October 2004) election results: House of Representatives - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - NNP 14, GULP 1 |
unicameral National Assembly or Asamblea Nacional (93 seats; members are elected by proportional representation to serve five-year terms)
elections: last held 20 October 1996 (next to be held 4 November 2001) election results: percent of vote by party - Liberal Alliance (ruling party - includes PLC, PALI, PLIUN, and PUCA) 46.03%, FSLN 36.55%, PCCN 3.73%, PCN 2.12%, MRS 1.33%; seats by party - Liberal Alliance 42, FSLN 36, PCCN 4, PCN 3, PRONAL 2, MRS 1, PRN 1, PC 1, PLI 1, AU 1, UNO-96 Alliance 1 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 64.52 years
male: 62.74 years female: 66.31 years (2002 est.) |
total population:
69.05 years male: 67.1 years female: 71.11 years (2001 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 98% male: 98% female: 98% (1970 est.) |
definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 65.7% male: 64.6% female: 66.6% (1995 est.) |
Location | Caribbean, island between the Caribbean Sea and Atlantic Ocean, north of Trinidad and Tobago | Middle America, bordering both the Caribbean Sea and the North Pacific Ocean, between Costa Rica and Honduras |
Map references | Central America and the Caribbean | Central America and the Caribbean |
Maritime claims | exclusive economic zone: 200 NM
territorial sea: 12 NM |
continental shelf:
natural prolongation territorial sea: 200 NM |
Merchant marine | none (2002 est.) | none (2000 est.) |
Military branches | Royal Grenada Police Force, Coast Guard | Army, Navy, Air Force |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $NA | $26 million (FY98) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | NA% | 1.2% (FY98) |
Military manpower - availability | - | males age 15-49:
1,269,322 (2001 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | - | males age 15-49:
779,267 (2001 est.) |
Military manpower - military age | - | 18 years of age |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | - | males:
58,232 (2001 est.) |
National holiday | Independence Day, 7 February (1974) | Independence Day, 15 September (1821) |
Nationality | noun: Grenadian(s)
adjective: Grenadian |
noun:
Nicaraguan(s) adjective: Nicaraguan |
Natural hazards | lies on edge of hurricane belt; hurricane season lasts from June to November | destructive earthquakes, volcanoes, landslides, and occasionally severe hurricanes |
Natural resources | timber, tropical fruit, deepwater harbors | gold, silver, copper, tungsten, lead, zinc, timber, fish |
Net migration rate | -15.21 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) | -1.33 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Pipelines | - | crude oil 56 km |
Political parties and leaders | Grenada United Labor Party or GULP [Herbert PREUDHOMME]; National Democratic Congress or NDC [leader vacant]; New National Party or NNP [George McGUIRE] | Conservative Party of Nicaragua or PCN [Dr. Fernando AGUERO Rocha]; Independent Liberal Party or PLI [Virgilio GODOY]; Liberal Alliance (ruling alliance including Liberal Constitutional Party or PLC, New Liberal Party or PALI, Independent Liberal Party for National Unity or PLIUN, and Central American Unionist Party or PUCA) [leader NA]; National Conservative Party or PC [Pedro SOLARZANO, Noel VIDAURRE]; National Project or PRONAL [Benjamin LANZAS]; Nicaraguan Party of the Christian Path or PCCN [Guillermo OSORNO, Roberto RODRIGUEZ]; Nicaraguan Resistance Party or PRN [Salvador TALAVERA]; Sandinista National Liberation Front or FSLN [Daniel ORTEGA Saavedra]; Sandinista Renovation Movement or MRS [Sergio RAMIREZ]; Unity Alliance or AU [Alejandro SERRANO]; Union Nacional Opositora 96 or UNO-96 [Alfredo CESAR Aguirre] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | National Workers Front or FNT is a Sandinista umbrella group of eight labor unions including - Farm Workers Association or ATC, Health Workers Federation or FETASALUD, Heroes and Martyrs Confederation of Professional Associations or CONAPRO, National Association of Educators of Nicaragua or ANDEN, National Union of Employees or UNE, National Union of Farmers and Ranchers or UNAG, Sandinista Workers Central or CST, and Union of Journalists of Nicaragua or UPN; Permanent Congress of Workers or CPT is an umbrella group of four non-Sandinista labor unions including - Autonomous Nicaraguan Workers Central or CTN-A, Confederation of Labor Unification or CUS, Independent General Confederation of Labor or CGT-I, and Labor Action and Unity Central or CAUS; Nicaraguan Workers' Central or CTN is an independent labor union; Superior Council of Private Enterprise or COSEP is a confederation of business groups |
Population | 89,211 (July 2002 est.) | 4,918,393 (July 2001 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | 50% (2000 est.) |
Population growth rate | 0.02% (2002 est.) | 2.15% (2001 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Grenville, Saint George's | Bluefields, Corinto, El Bluff, Puerto Cabezas, Puerto Sandino, Rama, San Juan del Sur |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 2, FM 13, shortwave 0 (1998) | AM 63, FM 32, shortwave 1 (1998) |
Radios | 57,000 (1997) | 1.24 million (1997) |
Railways | 0 km | - |
Religions | Roman Catholic 53%, Anglican 13.8%, other Protestant 33.2% | Roman Catholic 85%, Protestant |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.02 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.12 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.85 male(s)/female total population: 1.08 male(s)/female (2002 est.) |
at birth:
1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.99 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.77 male(s)/female total population: 1 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 16 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment: automatic, islandwide telephone system
domestic: interisland VHF and UHF radiotelephone links international: new SHF radiotelephone links to Trinidad and Tobago and Saint Vincent; VHF and UHF radio links to Trinidad |
general assessment:
inadequate system being upgraded by foreign investment domestic: low-capacity microwave radio relay and wire system being expanded; connected to Central American Microwave System international: satellite earth stations - 1 Intersputnik (Atlantic Ocean region) and 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 27,000 (1997) | 140,000 (1996) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 976 (1997) | 7,911 (1997) |
Television broadcast stations | 2 (1997) | 3 (plus seven low-power repeaters) (1997) |
Terrain | volcanic in origin with central mountains | extensive Atlantic coastal plains rising to central interior mountains; narrow Pacific coastal plain interrupted by volcanoes |
Total fertility rate | 2.5 children born/woman (2002 est.) | 3.18 children born/woman (2001 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 11.5% (1999) (1999) | 20% plus considerable underemployment (1999 est.) |
Waterways | none | 2,220 km (including 2 large lakes) |